04.01.23 Delaware River is closed on the Jersey side for striper fishing.....

     So thats was it. A quick month. March 1st to March 31st. Starting today the Delaware River, for those targeting striped bass with the fly, plug, or bait, is closed until June 1st to protect the spawning fish. The NJ DEP Fish and Game outlines this in the 2023 New Jersey Fishing Digest. This isn't a new, not rule, but law. It says that fishing or being in possession of striped bass from Calhoun Street Bridge in Trenton down to the Salem River, opposite the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal is illegal. 

     You can clearly see the dates of open and closure above. It doesn't say anything about it being open for catch and release fishing. If you're throwing a plug, I guess you can claim you're fishing for bluefish in Bordentown. 

     What is interesting is that across the drink Pennsylvania has a different set of regulations. Same water, different regs. You can fish fort striped bass, and possess them, during that closed New Jersey season from April 1st to May 31st. You can see the regs below,

  Pennsylvania allows anglers to harvest a daily limit of two striped bass measuring 21 to less than 24 inches for a two month period from April 1 through May 31 from the Calhoun St. Bridge in Trenton downstream to the Pennsylvania state line. New Jersey still has a closed season. Anglers fishing the Delaware River from the New Jersey shoreline, or returning to New Jersey by boat and/or car in April and May must abide by New Jersey’s striped bass regulations. Possession of Striped Bass in New Jersey is illegal during this time period.

     So the question is, "Are they going to enforce it?". The answer should be, "Who cares, it's the law, and it is working to protect the striped bass". Last year I asked a few law enforcement officers about the regulations. They routinely patrol the Delaware River in the spots were non-sportsman poachers like to break the law. And to quote, "We don't care if you fish, you just can't keep any". 

     So I get it. It's a soft law? Anglers have been fishing this beat from Trenton to the Salem River for decades. Just to throw a wrench into it, some of the New Jersey Regulations say Calhoun Street in Trenton all the way down to the Delaware Bay. The difference is shown in the top illustration, blue line and green line along the banks. Not only does law enforcement turn and eye to this law, magazines and forums and even videos show, proudly, of their catches of big fish, and small ones alike, along the very sections of the river that are closed? 

Either shut it down or make it and release, and enforce the laws as they are written. And while they're at it can Pa and NJ just agree on the same rules in the pool?